Time switch



NOV-

S. L. STONE ET AL TIME SWITCH e o r N m 2 W s Nov. 10', 1925. 1,560,810

s. L. STONE ET AL TIME SWITCH ile y 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SeZdenL StoneQ1 Pay CC .BraenaZen, @W 2o Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SELDEN L. STONE AND ROY C. BRAENDLEIN, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

TIME SWITCH.

Application filed May 8,

Be it known that we, SnnnnxL. STONE and R01 C. BRAENDLEIN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion andState of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in aTime Switch, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a system for controlling the lamps forilluminating advertising bill boards, lamps for motor cars, and allplaces where it is necessary to open and close electric circuits atintervals, the said system contemplating the use of suitably arrangedelectric conductor wires; lamps within the circuit for illuminatingpurpose, and also certain timing mechanism adapted to open or close theelectric circuit in the s vs tem at stated intervals.

One of the objects of the invention c011- sists in the provision of alighting system for the purposes above specified wherein the electriccircuit may be opened or closed at determined intervals throughout aconsider able period of time, thereby avoiding the daily attendance ofan operator and effecting thereby a saving in operating expenses, byreducing the number of employees necessary for the manual operation ofsuch lighting systems especially when these systems are located atwidely separated places, as in the case of advertising bill boards.

A further object of the invention is its ready adaptability for use inconnection with the lighting systems of motor .vehicles, wherein it isnecessary to light the lamps at a different hour as the days lengthenand shorten during the year, to comply with traflic ordinances, therebyeliminating annoyances and waste of time on the part of the motoringpublic.

A still further object of the invention consists in the provision of atime'switch, constituting an essential part of such a system which willbe simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, by reason ofits ready application and adaptation to the .ordinary clocks which forma part of the accessory equipment of motor vehicles.

Other noteworthy features and character- 'istics of the improvementshereinafter claimed will be made apparent to' those skilled in this artby a perusal of the fol- .lowing description andexemplary embodiamanually operated switch for 1922. Serial No. 559,140.

ments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a partthereof,in which Figure 1 is an external plan view of the timing device whichforms one of the essential parts of our improved lighting system. Fig. 2is a horizontal section of the timing device, on the plane 22 in Fig. 3Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the timing device, showing the enclosingcasing in section. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, on the plane 4t-4 inFig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, on the plane 5-5 in Fig. 3. Fig.6 is an underside plan view on the plane 66 in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is asectional view on the plane 77 in Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is a side elevation ofthe timing device, on the plane 88 in Fig. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detailunderside plan view, showing the relative positions of the cam and diskwheel at one period of time. Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail view of theparts shown in Fig. 9 in which the parts are shown in an advancecposition from that illustrated in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is an enlargedsectional detail view of the upper portion of the mechanism foroperating the hands of the clock. Fig. 12 is a fragmentary detailperspective view of the contact finger for opening and closing theelectric circuit. Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic view of our improved systemfor alternately lighting and extinguishing the lamps in the system.

Referring to the drawings, the lighting system, in v ew of its readyadaptation for motor vehicle use, will, for convenience, be described inconnection with such avehicle, and contemplates the utilization of a distributing system which comprises a number of suitably arranged conductorwires; a battery for supplying the electric current;

interrupting the current, and an automatic timing device forautomatically interrupting the electric current at stated intervals.\Vhen the lighting system is set for automatic operation the electriccurrent passes from a battery 10 over a conductor wire 11 leading to abinder post 12 of a manually operated switch 13; thence over a switcharm 14 to a binder post 15, and thence over a conductor wire 16 to abinder post 17 of the timing device. When the circuit is closed thecurrent passes through certain mechanism of the timing device, to behereafter 'plished more particularly described to a binder post 18 andthence over conductor wire 19 which extends to the negative pole ofbattery 10. Lamps 20 are arranged inconductor wire 19 between the timingvdevice and battery 10. The lighting system, in addtion to its automaticoperation is susceptible of'manual operation in the usual way. Thiswep36: complish by manually shifting switch arm 14, of switch 13, frombinder post 15 to binder post 13 so that the current is shuntedaround-the [timing device over condiictor re 21- p v The timing deviceof the system contemplates the'utiliZat-ion 'Ora'ny suitable clockmechanism, such as form a part of the accessoryequipment located on theinstrument board of notorvehicles. itnS shown in Ffgs. 3and 8 of thedrawings, the timing device comprises frame-work consisting of a numberof spaced division walls 25, 26, 27 28 and 29, w hich are'held in spacedrelation by means of t-he'spacer bolts 30 This frame-work is enclosed ina casing 82 and forms the support for the various movable parts of thetiming device. 'These movable pa rts include the usual main spring whichis housed in and rotates a drum as the spring unwinds, the movable'pa'tsare operated. "This enforced movement of the parts is acco n byproviding drum 35 with externally located teeth which mesh with a pinion37 (Fig, 8) mounted on a shaft 88, and this shait is giurther providedwith a second pinion which iiieshes with and perates a pinion 40arranged on a shaft ll. Shaft-i1 is p rovided with a second pinion -12which meshes with a pinion 1-3 arranged on the minutehandshaft 44 formovingthe minute hand Shaft dais also provided with a second pinion 46which drlves the hour-hand at? through a train of speed reducing pniionsd8; i9 and 50, which mechanism is common in clock construction.

The power for operating our improved cut out mechanism, for openingandclosing the electric circuit, taken from pinion 50, which drives the.hour-hand 47, by means or an intermediate pinion 5 5 which meshes with apinion ;56 sec ured to a powertra'n smission shaft 57 extending back ofthe clock mechanism.- Shaft 57' is provided with a second pinion 58which meshes wit-hand drives a relatively larger gear wheel 59; thedifference in ratio oithe pinion 58 'andgear wheel 59 being such as tocause the latter to make one complete revolution while hour hand 4 makestwo complete revolutions about its axis, and the purpose of this dii:terence in the travel of these parts will be here nafter described. Gearwheel 59 is arranged on and moves with a shaft 60 having its endsinsulated free from the adjacent division walls 28 and 29 of tle andthrough which frame work, and shaft 60 is further provided with a pairof disk wheels 61 and 62, the disk wheel 61 afiordlng the Imeans throughwhich an electrical "contact is eliected and maintained with the freeend of a conductor arm 63 (Fig. d) attached to a post 6 L having its"Outer end formed into a binding post 1? for connecting the conductorwire 16 of the lighting system. Post "6% is insulated-free from divisionwalls 28 and 29 to prevent leakage, so that the current entering overwire 16 will pass through post 64: and arm 63 to ener ize disk' ivheels61 and 62, gear wheel :59 i'and their supporting shait 601' Thecui'rent'is also prevented'ironi escaping -th,rough "the contact may beestablished bet-ween rim 62 and disk wheel 62 by means of a contactfinger 66 when the'latter is moved into proper position with a manuallyoperable cam-wheel 67. Contact linger 66 is pivotally mounted on and iscarried around with disk jwheel 62 and the conta'ct' finger isoscillated to open the circuit when its rig-ht angle extension 66contacts an erg-tended oi tion 6'? of the manually operated camwheel 67,and the duration of this contact depends upon the length of the extendedportion 6'? of said cam-wheel 67. Gamwheel 67 is formed integrally witha sleeve 68 7) which is supported on shaft 66 carrying the disk wheels61 and 62,1but the sleeve 168 and its cam-wheel 67' are susceptible ofindependent manual operation of shaft 60 and are insulated free from itto prevent leakage of the current through cam-wheel 67 when the latteris in contact with cont-act finger 66. See Fig '7. When cam-wheel 6i"oscillates co-iitact finger '66its outer end willmove'out of contact (iia lug 62 formed-on rim 62" and effect an interruption in the electriccircuit, and when the contact finger has been carried a sufiicientdistance the disk wheel to eiiect thedisengagement of its right angleextension 66 from cam-wheel 67 the said contact finger will beoscillated under the influence of a spring 69 to again bring its outerend into contact with lug 62 and close the circuit in the system. Whenthe circuit is closed the current passes from disk -wl '62- throughcontact finger 66 to rim 62 from whence it passes out throughafcollector-arm to post 71 and over conductor wire 19, through lamp 20and back to battery 10. Post 71 is insulated free from the divisionwalls 28 and :29 to prevent leakage of the current, and the outer end ofpost 71 is formed into a binder post 18 to which conductor wire 19 isattached. The duration of time for maintaining the electric circuit inopen or closed condition is determined by the length of the contactbetween contact finger 66 and cam-wheel 67 and this is determined by thelength of the extended portion 67 of the camwheel. As an illustration,we have diagrammatically shown cam-wheel 67, in Fig. 9, as beingarbitrarily divided radially into twenty-four uniformly spaced parts,this number corresponding approximately to the number of hoursconstituting a day of time, and to insure that the electric circuit willbe kept closed throughout the longest period of darkness of a given daywithin the confines of the United States) we have allottedfourteentwentyfourths of the peripheral length of cam-wheel 67 to itsless radial portion. so that the contact finger will be free of thecam-wheel and the circuit closed while the contact finger traverses thisperipheral portion of the cam-wheel. while the remainingten-twentyfourths of the periphery of the cam-wheel is allotted to itsgreater radial portion which actuates contact finger 66 to hold thecircuit open. Hence, if the portion 67 of the cam-wheel is lengthened orshortened from that shown in Fig. 9 a corresponding increase or decreasein the herein described periods of time results.

In manually resetting the hands of the clock the disk wheel 62 and itscontact finger 66 are simultaneously re-set, so that if the hands of theclock be set to indicate 3 p. 111. (Fig. 1) six hours of the time formaintaining an open circuit has passed with four remaining; this beingfollowed by a period of fourteen hours during which time the circuitremains closed, so that lamp 20 will be lighted at 7 p. 1n. andextinguished at 9 a. in. next day. Under the above-mentioned arbitrarydivision of periphery of cam-wheel 67 the latter will hold the contactfinger 66 in a position to effectively maintain an open circuit for aperiod of ten hours and then release the contact finger for maintaininga closed circuit for a period of fourteen hours, and these movements foralternately opening and closing the circuit are continued in successiveorder.

To effect av manual re-setting of indicator hand and cam-Wheel 67, theoperator manually moves indicator hand 75, by means of a pinion 76 and atrain of pinions 77, 78 and79, until it points to the numeral H" thesystem will close four hours later, or

on the clock dial, so that the circuit in at 7 p. m. As the operator isre-setting indicator hant 75 to the desired point on the dial of theclock he simultaneously moves cam-wheel 67 into proper relation withcontact finger 66 so as to bring aboutthe disengagement between thecontact finger and the extended portion 67 of the cam-wheel at the endof a four hour advance travel of said contact finger. To synchronize themovements between the indicator hand 7 5 and cam-wheel 67 we mountpinion 77 on a shaft- 82 (see Fig. 8) and this shaft is provided with asecond pinion 83 which meshes with and drives a gear-wheel 8i mounted onthe sleeve 68 carrying the camwheel 67. Pinion 83 is insulated away fromits shaft 82 so as to prevent leakage of the current at that point.

As the time for automatically lighting lamp 20, to meet the increase inthe number of hours of darkness which will hardly exceed more thanfour'l p. 111. to S p. m.- we limit the distance of travel of themanually actuated pinion 76, so as to maintain a proper working relationbetween indicator hand 75 and cam-wheel 67 and insure the closing of thecircuit between the hours of at and 8 p. 1n. The means for limiting themovement of pinion 76, and therethrough indicator hand 75, isaccomplished by a pinion 76 which is arranged on pinion 76 with its freeend projecting through a slot in the face-plate 91 of the clock, asindicated in Fig. 1, this slot being of alength to permit only themaximum travel of. said pinion.

The timing mechanism is also provided with an indicator to determine, ifthe clock ceases to function, whether the clock stopped during the a. m.or p. 111. period of the day. It is essential for the operator to know,when re-setting both the hands of the clock; the disk wheel 62, and thecontact finger 66, that contact finger 66 has been brought into properrelation with cam-wheel 67, so as to insure the opening and closing ofthe circuit at the desired time. For the purpose of in dicating the a.m. and p. in. periods of the day we employ a disk-pinion 95 (Fig; 2-)having its exposed surface divided into a light and dark area, the lightarea indicating the a. m. period and the dark area indicating the p.111. period. Pinion 95 is driven from the clock mechanism to bring itslight and dark areas alternately into registration with a sight-opening96 (Fig. 1), through which the operator may observe which part of thepinion is visible at the time. Pinion 95 is driven directly from apinion 50 which is a part of the clock pinion 50 that moves thehour-hand 45 of the clock, so that if the clock ceases to functionfurther movement of pinion 95 ceases. Hence, if the operator discoversthat the clock ceased running at 4 oclock, as shown by the clock hands,heican determine, by observing which part of pinion 95' is visiblethrough sight-opening 96, whether the clock ceased running at 4 pm. orat 4 a; 1n.

' Since there is a: difference in the rate of travel between the handsof the clock and the disk wheel 62-, it is necessary after the clockstops to re-set disk: wheel 62' sons to bring pawl 66 into properposition relatively to 'canrwheel 67 at the same time the hands of theclock are'b'eing re-set to indicate the proper hour of the day, and thisis made possible through the mechanism heretofore described inconjunction with the exposure ofthe light and dark areas of pinion 95through sight-opening '96. As an illustration: If at 9 a. m; theoperator notes that the clock ceased running at 4 oclock and that-thedark portion 'of pinion 95 is visible through sight-opening 96, he willknow that the clock ceased running at 4 p. m. If the operator made thisdiscovery within twelve hours from the time the clock stopped it willonly be necessary to move the hands of the clock in a clockwisedirectionuntil they indicate the'hou'r of setting; but in the above mentionedillustration seventeen hours have lapsed between 4 p. m. and 9 a. m. Inthis instance, after the operator has moved the hands of the clock in aclockwise direction from 4 (the hourthe clock stopped) until9-,an-aclvance of 5 hours, he will observe that the dark area of pinion95 is still visible through sight-opening 9 6, so that the hands of thecl-ock must be advancedan additional twelve hours-a total of seventeenhours' which will denote 9 a. m. the hour of setting and which will beverified by the light area-of pinion 95 now visible through sightopening96, and he will also know that disk wheel '92 and its contact finger 66have been brought into proper position relatively with the manuallyoperated cam-wheel 67;

Theforegoing description is merely illustrative of the principles ofour. invention,

and other m'ocliiieations tl'iereof may be made that vv ill function insubstantially the same manner without departing from the spirit "of theinvention, and we do not, therefore, desire to lllllll'f ourselves tothe use of anysp'ecifie form of the parts illustrated.

Havi g thns fully described our said invention, what we'desire to secure'by Iietters Patent, is-- g 1. In combination with a clock mechanism,means for indicating time, a contact finger mounted on support driven bythe clock mechanism, a rotabl'e cam for oscillating the j'coii-tactfinger, and means for changing ther'eIati'Ve' position of the cam and'contact finger for varying the time of'-openi-i1g '-a3nd closing acircuit, substanasset-forth. 2: The-ceinbrnat1en with a clock mechanism,means for indicating time, an autoearly matic cut out mechanism mountedon a support driven from the clock mechanism, means for oscillating thecut out'mechanisni, and means for manually changing the position of thelast-named means relatively to the cut-out mechanism for changing thetime of opening and closing the circuit, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a clock mechanism, means for indicating time,automatic circuit opening and closing means driven by the clockmechanism, said last mentioned means comprising a plurality of r0- tarydisks, one of said disks having a rim insulated from its body, anoscillatory contact finger carried by the body and having one endextending-over the insulated rim, the other end of said contact fingerhaving an arm normally tensioned against the periphery of another ofsaid disks, said last mentioned disk having :cam surfaces adapted toactuate said oscillatory arm for open ing and closing the circuit,substantially as set forth.

4L. In combination with a clock mechanism, means for indicating time,automati'c circuit opening and closing means driven by the clockmechanism, said lastmentioned means comprising a plurality of rotarydisks, "one of said disks having arim insulated from its body, anoscillatory contact finger carried by the body and having one endextending over the insulated rim, the other end of said contact fingerhaving an arm normally tensioned againstthe periphery of another of saiddisks, said last mentioned disk having cam surfaces adapted to actuatesaid oscillatory arm for open ing and closing the circuit, and aconductor arm engaging the insulated rim for maintaining electricalconnection between the periphery of said rim and a binding post,substantiall 1 as set forth.

5. A switch comprising a shaft, disk on said shaft, an conduct-or gagingsaid 'disk, a second disk on said shaft having a rim insulated from itsbody, a contact element carried by the body and adapted to be moved intoengagement with said insulated rim, a second conductor arm engaging saidrim and means foroperating said contact element to completethe circuit,substantialy asset forth.

6. A switch comprising a shaft, a rotary disk on said shaft, a conductorarm engaging said disk, a second disk on said' shaft having a riminsulated from its body, a contact element carried by the body and arotary arm Jenadapted to be moved into engagement with opening andclosing the circuit, substantially set forth.

7 In combination With operating mechanism, automatic circuit opening andclosing means driven by. said operating mechanism, said automaticcircuit opening and closing means comprising a shaft, a rotary disk onsaid shaft, a resilient conductor arm engaging the periphery of saiddisk, a second disk on said shaft having a rim insulated from its body,an oscillatory contact element carried by said body extending adjacentthe insulated rim, a resilient conductor arm engagement with thperiphery of said rim and another disk on said shaft having itsperiphery forming a cam face adapted to operate said contact element forclosing the circuit, substantially as set forth. In Witness whereof, Wehave hereunto set our hands and seals at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 1stday of May, A. 1)., one thousand nine hundred and twenty-two.

SELDEN L. STONE. [1 s.] ROY G. BRAENDLEIN. [Ls]

